A few weeks ago, my grandmother bought my sons some flower seeds. They have always wanted to plant anything they see with seeds, whether they be flowers, apples, or peppers. They have faithfully watered their seeds each day; and a few days ago, the seeds started to sprout. We have been watching these small plants as their leaves have begun to show. The tiny sprouts, of course, do not have flowers yet, but I noticed a few things as I was looking at them and pulling out a few weeds that had also sprung up.
With the flowers grew weeds that needed to be plucked. I was pulling a few weeds that had come up with the flowers and thought about Hebrews 12:15, which says, Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; I was thinking of how these little weeds were not intentionally planted, just as some of those thoughts that lead to bitterness are not intentionally planted. Some of the flowers had just started springing up, and I could not tell which plants were flowers and which were weeds. Sometimes, we cannot tell when these roots of bitterness are being planted and do not even recognize them when they start to take root. Maybe we have a situation that is legitimately unfair that upsets us, and possibly rightly so. However, if we let these thoughts fester, they can spring up into a root of bitterness.
It is easier to pull little weeds than big weeds. I know this goes without saying, but it was much easier to pull that little weed that had sprung up than it would have been if I had waited until it was fully grown. I could grab those little leaves and just pluck up the weed with almost no force; however, when trying to root up a weed that has been there for a while, it is a much different story. What I learned from this is that we need to tackle those thoughts as soon as we recognize them. We may not be able to immediately recognize those thoughts for what they are—roots of bitterness—but as soon as we do, we need to be willing to get rid of them. Then, we must ask God to help us forgive and move past the situation.
Not all flowers grow at the same rate. Even though all of these flowers were planted at the same time, they did not all spring up at the same time. This reminded me of the danger of comparison. Sometimes, it is easy to compare that person who comes into church and gets saved, then immediately gets on fire for God, changes his way of life, and gets involved with another Christian who, after being saved, merely sits in a pew for months or years. We all can be found comparing ourselves to someone else who seems to “have it all together.” I Thessalonians 4:11 reminds us, And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; We may not be growing as fast as we would like. Our “flowers” may not be as big or as beautiful as someone else’s seems to be, but as long as we are growing to the best of our ability, we are accomplishing all that God asks of us.
Not all seeds sprout, nor do they sprout at the same time as others. As is true in soulwinning, sometimes we plant the seed and never see growth. Sometimes, we are able to talk to someone who immediately places his trust in Christ. Even Christ shared this in the parable of the sower. He described seeds that fell on the wayside, on hard ground, in the weeds, and in good ground. The great thing is that our command is just to go. Matthew 28:19-20 says, Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. We are not responsible for the results, but we are responsible for our obedience to the command to go.
The next time we look at flowers or weeds (and there will always be weeds), let us remember all of the lessons that God can teach us.
by Vicki Voorhis
